FOR seven years, residents of Kinrara Court apartment in Puchong had been nonchalant about not having corridor lights, but a recent crime incident had them thinking about its importance.

A motorcycle belonging to a foreign resident of Block H was burnt in the wee hours of the morning on Nov 5.

A group of residents highlighted the issue recently but the discussion with the joint management body (JMB) turned ugly.

MB chairman Karen Khor said they have had difficulty collecting the monthly maintenance fees from the residents of the 670 units.

“About 30% of them do not pay up the monthly fee of RM33, which is mainly utilised to keep the common area clean. The extras will be used to fix faulty common properties like leaky roofs and gutters.

Although the JMB had over RM70,000 in the bank now, Khor said the JMB and residents have to consider several options to settle the corridor lights problem.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) had requested the JMB to appoint a registered contractor to check the building’s wiring, and the fees for each staircase (that has 10 lights) would be RM300.

“There are 67 staircases in Kinrara Court and the monthy electricity bill would roughly amount to RM4,000.

“The light bulbs and casings might have to be changed, too.

“We will discuss with the residents on how to foot the bills in our next extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Dec 6. However, increasing the maintenance fees has always been a sensitive issue,” Khor said.

The other issues raised include the allocation of parking lots and the purchase of building insurance.

“We have to fork out money from our funds to settle the quit rent too, as some residents never pay up — they do not realise the importance of settling the quit rent as sale of any unit in Kinrara Court is forbidden if there is any arrears,” she said.

Selangor MCA Youth chief Dr Kow Cheong Wei, who was also present, hoped the residents would solve the problems amicably in the next EGM.http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5879005428433800151“There is no point for the residents to complain and yet not attending the meeting to voice their concerns.

“I also urge the residents, who have installed lights outside their units, to switch them on until the issue is settled, and to pay close attention to any outsiders that might pose safety problems to the community,” he said.

Khor stressed that the residents who have not settled their maintenance fees can attend the meeting, but they have no voting rights.